“I Began to Embrace it”: How One Survivor Learned to Live with a Colostomy Bag

Francine Susco didn’t think she would ever be able to cope with a colostomy bag after surgery for colon cancer. “At the time I was 62, ” Francine tells SurvivorNet. “I said, ‘I’ve had a good life. If the cancer comes back, it comes back. I really would rather be dead than live with a colostomy bag'”. Her surgeon, Dr. Heather Yeo, an advisor to SurvivorNet, assured her it would be temporary and gave Francine the confidence to persevere. With the help of a stoma nurse, Francine adjusted to life with a bag, which also included clothes that concealed her new accessory.  Soon she was in a routine.  “The fact that I was able to handle it and dress with it and cover it; I began to embrace it,” says Francine. “It’s manageable one day at a time.”